Spain: If an employee submits resignation by using Whatsapp, is it valid?

Oct 30 2017

An employee communicated the denial of the Permanent Disability he requested to the National Institute of Social Security, as well as his intention to not come back to his job place by using Whatsapp.

After sending several communications to the employee (in which the company asked him to come back his work place) the corporation considered employment relationship finished by the employee’s tacit resignation.

The employee filed a claim for the dismissal before the Social Court which declared the dismissal unfair; therefore the company challenged such decision to the High Court of Justice of Madrid.

The discussion was to determine whether the employee’s conduct and Whatsapp’s demonstrations constitute tacit resignation.

The High Court of Justice of Madrid declared that in order to validate tacit resignation, it is enough if employee’s behavior unmistakably shows will to finalize employment relationship.

In this dispute, the employee clearly had communicated to the company, by using the Whatsapp application, his will to not return to his work place, by texting expressions like “I cannot come back”, “do what you must do”, “I’m sorry, I will not come back”. Likewise, he did not respond to successive burofax the company sent him requesting justification of his absences, and warned not returning would lead to his dismissal by resignation. All this statements indicated the intention of the employee to not return to work.

Therefore, the High Court of Justice of Madrid considered the company’s decision fair, as the Court understood the employee stated a resignation, and estimated the company’s appeal presented to the High Court of Justice of Madrid.